


Honey, We Forgot Something...

by diemarysues



Series: Paws Pitter-Pattering [2]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Animals, Crack, Ficlet, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-12
Updated: 2013-11-25
Packaged: 2018-01-01 06:53:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1041703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/diemarysues/pseuds/diemarysues
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I argued that there could too be angst in alkjira's cathamster 'verse. Unfortunately, that meant I ended up writing it (and also it ended up fluffy???)</p><p>Second chapter: Bilbo's POV. Defs more angsty.</p><p>Third chapter: Thorin's POV. Brief angst, more fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you read either alkjira's or my works, you'll notice that a lot of it is spent blaming the other. This follows that pattern.
> 
> GDI what am I doing even.
> 
> (Read alkjira's Purring Cat, Hidden Hamster before this. At least the chapters pertaining to Bilbo, Thorin, and their... children. Ahem.)

After making sure to plug the bathtub securely, Ori sighed and let the little hamster pups - _not_ cathamsters, thank you Kíli - run around to their heart's content. It was the easiest solution to their loving to roam, and having them in one place they couldn't climb out of. They were in a new place after all, and exploring would have to wait until all the boxes were cleared away. Didn't want to accidentally throw one away while a hamster was inside. Thorin would be furious.  


Speaking of -

 

"This cat is a demon." Kíli dropped the carrier onto the table and gingerly undid the catch on the door. He jumped away when Thorin darted out like a streak of black lightning. "He managed to get out of the thing in the car! While I was driving!"

 

“How’d you get him back inside?”

 

“Told him that if he didn’t, I’d crash the car and he wouldn’t be able to see little Durin and the rest ever again.” It was impossible to tell if he was joking. Ori hoped he was joking. Still, even he knew how vindictive Thorin could be.

 

"He didn't scratch you, did he?" Ori asked worriedly, taking Kíli’s larger hands in his. To check for injury, of course. He exhaled in relief at the lack of red lines – or blood – on Kíli’s palms and the backs of his hands.

 

A fetching smile. "Nah, we clipped his nails, remember? Or you clipped his nails. I don't think he has patience for anyone else… except maybe Bilbo and their babies."

 

Ori twitched.

 

"Where are the little tykes anyhow?"

 

"In the bathtub, they’re too excitable to sit still. So don't go take a bath just yet."

 

Kíli grinned, slipping his fingers between Ori's. "I'll wait for you."

 

"It'll be a long wait, because I have to finish unpacking first."

 

"Ugh.” Kíli sagged, pouting. “Judging by the books alone that'll take forever."

 

Smiling at this (and placing a small kiss on Kíli’s mouth to appease him), Ori stepped away and reached for the box cutter on the table. He'd been serious about unpacking, and the sooner they got it done, the sooner they could, um. Bathe.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Kíli approach the hamster cage. "Don't wake Bilbo," Ori said absently, pulling out his history books. "I think he's wiped out from the moving; didn't even stir when I released his litter."

 

There he went again, talking like his _male_ hamster had given birth to little hamsters. Yup. Totally not crazy.

 

"Ori… I don't think…”

 

If the worry in Kíli’s voice – and what he’d said – wasn't cause enough to go to his side, Thorin's furious yowl was. As Ori and Kíli watched, the cat reached between the open cage doors and pulled out what Ori thought had been a fluffy ball of sleeping hamster.  


It flopped to the floor, unrolling open, and he recognised one of his mittens. A mitten that he’d thought he’d lost, and was frayed to fluffiness – but most definitely a mitten and not a hamster.

 

Thorin narrowed his eyes at Ori, ears flat against his head and fangs bared. Kíli asked the obvious question.

 

"Did you leave Bilbo behind?"

 

* * *

 

Neither Ori nor Kíli had dared put Thorin back into the carrier; the cat had instead jumped into Kíli’s hatchback of his own volition, and sat in the passenger seat with an imperious look on his furry face. Ori had wisely opted to sit in the back.

 

It may have been odd to make such a fuss about a pet, but Bilbo was much more than just a hamster. Despite his tiny, furry stature, he was practically family, him and Thorin (no matter how prickly the cat was) and their brood (no matter how squicky their possible origins were). Not only would losing Bilbo mean an uncontrollable cat and depressed mini-hamsters, it would mean a hole in Ori's heart. And Kíli’s.

 

The landlord - a man called Bard - looked a little weirded out at the sight that greeted him when he opened his front door. Ori had lived there long enough that Bard was quite used to antics involving him (usually connected with Fíli and/or Kíli), but this was obviously stranger than all those happenings.

 

Ori looked to be near tears, wringing his fingers worriedly, while Kíli had a black cat on his shoulder. (He was wincing, like Thorin had supposedly-clipped claws digging into his skin.) At the hurried explanation - Ori claimed to have forgotten _something_ , carefully not mentioning that that 'something' actually meant 'a hamster', because Bard had always been kind to him and actually knew who Bilbo was - and he was given the appropriate set of keys.

 

Instead of tearing through the now-bare apartment, both men decided to let Thorin do the searching. He had the best nose out of them (even looks-wise) and was soon darting into what had been Ori's bedroom.

 

Following what was first a (vaguely relieved-sounding) meow and then constant purring, Kíli and Ori found Thorin in the closet, wrapped around a dejected-looking Bilbo. Ori dropped to his knees, apologies dripping from his lips as he stroked Bilbo's head with one finger.

 

Kíli leaned against the closet doorway, and bemusedly wondered what he'd gotten involved in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ssh don't talk.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bilbo's POV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes I had to.

Bilbo yawned.

 

He hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but he’d been absolutely exhausted. The children were completely excited about their moving to a new home, and had displayed that excitement by getting into all sorts of trouble. It hadn’t just been Merry and Pippin this time; all five of their younglings had decided to get stuck in all sorts of nooks and crannies, claiming that they were just exploring their old home for the last time.

 

Goodness. It was enough to drive a hamster barmy.

 

Still the nap had done him good. He yawned again and pawed at his eyes. Then he stretched out each of his legs, one after another – as was his custom, no matter how many times Thorin snorted at him – and rose to his feet. He looked around.

 

Hmm. Apparently he’d followed in the footsteps of his Kíli – as opposed to Ori’s Kíli – and had fallen asleep in the closet. Luckily for him, the door was open a crack, just enough for him to squeeze through. No need to yell for Thorin – his hearing was better than their sons’ – who would then have to yowl for Ori.

 

No need to endure the teasing. Bilbo shuddered.

 

He stepped out into what had been Ori’s room. It was ridiculously bare, as it had been for the past few days; Ori had been ‘packing’, which meant putting all his belongings into boxes that some other humans took away, presumably to their new home. There were very many boxes that Bilbo had seen; humans really had too many things. He and Thorin had agreed on this fact, especially when bemoaning Pippin’ and Merry’s love of climbing those aforementioned things.

 

Hmm. Thinking of his boisterous sons, it was rather suspicious that he couldn’t hear either of them. Best find Thorin and go hunting. Except…

 

Hang on.

 

Bilbo stopped in the doorway, turning his head this way and that. There were a lot less boxes around the place – if ‘a lot less’ meant ‘none at all’. How odd. He must have slept through all that noise (and humans _were_ noisy when they carried things).  Even his cage – though it hadn’t seen much use after the boys were grown, unless he and Thorin wanted alone time – had been stowed away, it seemed.

 

So. Um.

 

Where was everyone?

 

“Thorin?” It made sense to call for the cat first; he was very alert, sometimes frighteningly so. (Or, it had been frightening when they’d still been getting to know each other. Now it was… enthralling.)

 

No answer. He tried each of his boys, from the most responsible to the least (which, if anyone was curious, was: Durin, Frodo, Merry, Kíli, and Pippin). Still no answer.

 

Bilbo swallowed and squeaked out, “Ori?”

 

There was again no answer. Of course there was no answer. But they _couldn’t_ have left him behind. That was impossible.

 

He made it his duty to check every room accessible to him – he couldn’t very well reach for the round opening mechanisms. Even Thorin couldn’t. But every time Bilbo came face to face with a closed door, he called through the gap underneath it as loud as he could – and for longer and longer the moor doors he came to.

 

Ori’s (old) apartment was not quite that large though, and even for someone with as short legs as Bilbo’s, it did not take long to confirm that the place was indeed very empty. Not even a scrap of Ori’s life here remained – besides Bilbo, of course – and the walls and ceiling seemed to tower over Bilbo more than usual.

 

He was all alone.

 

Bilbo had never been alone. Even after his parents – Bungo and Bella – had died, he hadn’t been the only one in his cage. He’d not had siblings but cousins in the pet store with him; and then he’d come home with Ori and met Thorin, and then, and then after _they’d_ gotten close, there were the boys, and –

 

He wished he could cry. He’d seen the water leaking from Ori’s eyes before, and once even from Kíli’s eyes (when they were watching the box with pictures Thorin called a ‘telly’). But he was a little hamster, not a human, and could only blink furiously as his heart threatened to cave into two.

 

He supposed it had been inevitable. The children were younger and more interesting and (excepting Frodo) bigger than he was. They were more active, too, getting that from Thorin. Bilbo was just frumpy and too curly-furred, brown and boring.

 

What smarted most was not that Ori – or Kíli – had forgotten him. It was that his _family_ had left him behind. His family had not noticed that he was not with them.

 

Or was it that they did not want him with them? Was he too overbearing to his children? Did Thorin think he was too lax with punishment? Did they not love him any more?

 

Bilbo found himself back in Ori’s closet. He lay down and curled into a ball, desperately wishing for black fur and silver whiskers and warm bodies to cuddle with. Especially wishing for a rough pink tongue to smooth his ‘messy’ fur.

 

What would happen now, then? Would he starve to death? Would the new owner of this home find him and keep him, or would they think him vermin and have him killed? Would the new owner have a cat that was not as kind as Thorin?

 

…would he die of heartbreak?

 

Bilbo closed his eyes, and felt that he would.

 

* * *

 

He did not hear the door open, incidentally. His wee hamster ears were not so adept at perceiving sound. What he heard was a very relieved “Bilbo!”, but that was heard in Thorin’s voice.

 

Bilbo didn’t move. He knew that his brain was playing tricks on him. He knew because this had happened a total of six times in the time he’d been in the closet – and five of those six times, he’d actually gotten up to check. Five of those six times, he’d been disappointed.

 

The time before this he hadn’t bothered. It was easier not to disappoint himself. He didn’t open his eyes now; his heart hurt enough already.

 

Then came the purring. That hadn’t happened the last time, which just showed how cruel his imagination could be. He could even _smell_ Thorin, that faint scent of salmon and clean fur and hamster pups. He curled further in on himself, trying to will away the sensations battering him, the memories and the pain.

 

And then he felt the tongue against his ear, and a warm body settling around his.

 

He opened his eyes, and felt his heart soar.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thorin's POV. And, yes, fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not last against peer pressure, apparently.

Thorin’s ears were flat against his head, and his bushy tail lashed to and fro. His gaze was steady as he glared at Kíli, trying to convey to him that getting to Ori’s old territory as quickly as possible was of the utmost priority. Luckily for Kíli’s wellbeing – as Thorin’s mind had been filled with revenge-driven images of throwing up in weirdly huge shoes –, they arrived at the building far more quickly than when Kíli had transported Thorin to the new shared domicile in the first place.

 

He was rather glad that Ori hadn’t trimmed his claws all the way – a barbaric practice, honestly – as it meant he could claw his way up to perch on Kíli’s shoulder. Perhaps he should have inflicted pain on his human – the one who had _forgotten_ his Bilbo – but Thorin had already decided that the best punishment for Ori would be to ignore him.

 

Then maybe shred some important papers. Or used them in place of litter. He hadn’t decided.

 

He jumped down onto the floor once the familiar door had been opened. In his head ran a litany of ‘please, please, please’ as he put his nose close to the ground and tried to determine from which direction Bilbo’s scent was the strongest.

 

Sunflower seeds, sunshine, and love – _there_!

 

Thorin ran in the appropriate direction, absolutely thankful that his senses were as sharp as ever; as opposed to certain not-cats. He cared not whether the two humans followed. His only focus was Bilbo.

 

The first glance at his companion, though, curled up into a dejectedly tight ball, that made Thorin’s heart break. Even though this was all completely _Ori_ ’s fault, Thorin couldn’t help but feel guilty.

 

Bilbo didn’t respond at all to Thorin’s relieved call. Hamsters… hamsters couldn’t die if they were alone for a few hours, right? Bilbo had been fine in their early days together, when Ori (the Idiot) locked him in the room for safekeeping.

 

Thorin started purring as soon as he saw and heard that Bilbo was still breathing. He quickly curled his body around Bilbo’s tiny one, and carefully licked Bilbo’s pointy ear.

 

He was so happy when Bilbo opened his eyes that he didn’t bite Ori’s finger when it came within reach.

 

* * *

 

After it had been explained that Bilbo had been briefly missing, their children had been appropriately ecstatic to see their Daddy. Thorin watched their reunion fondly (after making absolutely sure that there was no water in the tub), purring now almost-constant.

 

It was very good to have his family all together and in one place. Even if that place had to be the bathroom.

 

Even so, dinnertime and bedtime came sooner rather than later. Thorin and Bilbo watched their boys sleep, all higgledy-piggledy on top of each other. It was an adorable picture, and made his heart glow. It must’ve done the same to Bilbo, snuggled up to his side.

 

“Thorin?”

 

He met Bilbo’s bright eyes. “Yes, dear one?”

 

“May we… may we talk? In private?” He swallowed. “I don’t want the children to overhear.”

 

Thorin bobbed his head in a nod, not willing to disappoint Bilbo so close to his being left behind. (Though, even before that Incident, it had been difficult to deny Bilbo anything.)

 

They ended up on the sofa, as was their custom. Thorin dragged a soft pillow into position so Bilbo could sit on it. He himself lay on the sofa in such a way that he could rest his head on the pillow, just by Bilbo.

 

Bilbo was silent for a few long moments. It took Thorin’s wordless prompt of licking his ear for the hamster to quietly announce, “I thought you’d all forgotten me.”

 

“Never!” Thorin flicked the tip of his tail unhappily. “Bilbo, you mustn’t think that – I made sure that Ori realised you weren’t here so that we could come back for you.”

 

“I know. I _know_ that.” It sounded like Bilbo was trying to convince himself, rather than Thorin. “But at the time, when I was all alone in that place, I believed that… that I had been left behind on purpose.”

 

Thorin let out a soft, sorrowful meow.

 

“I just… I just care for you all so much, and the possibility that that wasn’t, wasn’t returned, that made me –”

 

“Bilbo.”

 

The hamster abruptly broke off, seeming to only just realise that he’d risen to his feet. As he settled back down (a little sheepishly), Thorin raised his head. His gaze, as well as his tone, was serious.

 

“Ours was not the best of starts.”

 

It was promising that, as distraught as he was, Bilbo still managed a derisive snort.

 

“I know, I was wrong to immediately put you under the category off ‘useless and edible’. I know. I’m glad we moved past that, because you have brought me so much joy since then. You have given us _children_. You have given us a family.” He lowered his head, staring deep into Bilbo’s eyes. “And I promise you, I will do anything and everything in my power to keep us together, and happy. Alright?”

 

Bilbo looked very sad and very hopeful, all at once. Damn those big eyes of his.

 

“Alright,” he agreed finally, and stretched forward to press their noses together.

 

Thorin, pleased, twitched his whiskers and pushed his nose more firmly against Bilbo’s. “I love you,” he whispered.

 

“I love you, darling.”


End file.
